Delaware
Report: Keep Medicfill for state retirees
A subcommittee tasked with reviewing healthcare plans for retired state employees recently recommended keeping the Medicfill plan for current retirees, and making other changes for state employees hired after Jan. 1, 2025.
“We created a process to make sure retirees’ voices were heard,” said Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long, who chairs the Retiree Healthcare Benefits Advisory Subcommittee, speaking during a joint House and Senate session Feb. 19 at Legislative Hall.
The issue of retiree healthcare benefits arose in 2022 after a group of state retirees expressed outrage over plans to switch retiree healthcare benefits to Medicare Advantage. Retirees formed an opposition group, RISE Delaware, and challenged the state’s decision in court. The case ended up in Delaware Supreme Court, which upheld traditional benefits for retirees.
Hall-Long assured retirees that the state will not request nor consider Medicare Advantage moving forward.
“Our retirees do not want Medicare Advantage, and I concur,” she said.
Still, funding retiree benefits is an ongoing and ever-increasing expense the subcommittee is seeking to remedy through its 25-page report of recommendations to the General Assembly, which will have to legislate changes.
Any changes, however, are recommended for state employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2025. Retiree benefits would be grandfathered in for current state employees, Hall-Long said.
“The last thing we want is a mass exodus,” Hall-Long said about employees potentially retiring early to take advantage of current benefits. “We do not want employees leaving.”
For employees hired after the January 2025 date, the report proposes two retiree plans – a Medicare Supplement Plan similar to the Medigap G plan available in 2023 with a retiree/state premium split for a 25-plus-year retiree of 5%/95% and a Medicare Supplement Plan similar to the Medigap L plan available in 2023 with a retiree/state premium split for a 25-plus-year retiree of 5%/95%.
For eligible pensioners hired after the 2025 cutoff, the report proposes the state pay no benefits for anyone with fewer than 15 years of service, 50% of benefits for 15 to 20 years, 75% for 20 to 25 years, and 100% for 25 years or more.
To help pay for ongoing costs, the report proposes setting aside at least 1% of the previous state budget to put money in the Other Post-Employment Benefits Fund with additional one-time contributions to the OPEB fund when one-time revenues or surpluses permit. Payroll deductions could also be increased to 0.50% of payroll with additional 0.25% increases each fiscal year, under the proposal.
Several RISE members thanked the subcommittee for its work and supported the proposal.
Speaking during public comment, resident Steven LePage said healthcare prices in Delaware are inflated because of the lack of competition among healthcare facilities. He noted a Delaware process that requires a certificate of need before a healthcare provider can provide services – a process that effectively allows hospitals and healthcare systems to have a monopoly.
“The pricing of healthcare in Delaware is too high,” he said. “This concerns certificate of need law. Twelve states have done away with their certificate of need, and I think Delaware needs to do the same to allow more competition to come to Delaware. Once the healthcare pricing for all of Delaware gets addressed, that will lower the pressure on state retiree healthcare as well.”
Delaware
After son’s overdose death, Delaware couple led fight against addiction for 13 years
The accolades
One of the organization’s earliest priorities was creating stable housing for people in recovery.
“We felt that we needed some place for folks in recovery to go, to live, and so that they could [live] in a drug-free situation where they could recover. So, we felt it was important to try to get some housing,” he said. “At first, we rented some properties and got folks into them. Then gradually, we were able to get our own houses so that they could have a place to live and we could support them in that way.”
Over time, atTAcK Addiction moved from renting properties to owning them. At its peak, the organization owned five recovery homes across Delaware. Recently, two of those homes were transferred to Impact Life, a nonprofit partner that continues to provide recovery housing and services.
But housing was only one part of the Keisters’ mission.
From the beginning, advocacy and policy reform were central to their work. Keister said atTAcK Addiction helped pass or support more than 10 pieces of legislation focused on addiction and recovery.
“We really were concentrating on policy,” he said. “The very first one, we all went to Dover to talk to whoever would listen regarding the 9/11 Good Samaritan law.”
The law protects people from arrest when they call for help during an overdose.
Similarly, Keister is proud of his efforts to pass the naloxone bill in Delaware, a medication that reverses opioid overdoses.
“Another one was the naloxone bill. We were about the 17th state to have naloxone available to individuals … it has made a difference,” he said. “It is something that reverses opioids and it is something that has saved a lot of lives.”
In addition to legislative work, the nonprofit focused on community outreach. The organization hosts and attends events across the state to reduce stigma surrounding substance use disorder. It also helped push for the nation’s first Opioid Impact Fee Fund legislation, which provides direct funding for treatment and recovery in Delaware.
Each year, the nonprofit also hosts an annual 5K on the first Saturday in March in Old New Castle — around Tyler Keister’s birthday — to honor loved ones lost to addiction and celebrate those in recovery.
Since atTAcK Addiction was founded in 2013, more than 4,500 people in Delaware have died from overdoses. However, recent data shows signs of progress. In 2024, the state recorded its first major decline in overdose deaths in more than a decade, dropping from 527 deaths in 2023 to 338 in 2024.
Delaware
Delaware Lottery Play 3 Day, Play 3 Night winning numbers for Feb. 8, 2026
Claiming lottery in Delaware
18 states have laws that allow national lottery prize jackpot winners to remain anonymous, but is Delaware among them?
The Delaware Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026 results for each game:
Winning Play 3 numbers from Feb. 8 drawing
Day: 3-5-6
Night: 9-8-1
Check Play 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Play 4 numbers from Feb. 8 drawing
Day: 5-1-7-6
Night: 9-0-7-7
Check Play 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Multi-Win Lotto numbers from Feb. 8 drawing
02-06-10-23-29-31
Check Multi-Win Lotto payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Feb. 8 drawing
05-14-17-31-44, Lucky Ball: 13
Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Play 5 numbers from Feb. 8 drawing
Day: 9-5-1-2-5
Night: 8-5-0-4-7
Check Play 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
- Sign the Ticket: Establish legal ownership by signing the back of your ticket with an ink pen.
- Prizes up to $599: Claim at any Delaware Lottery Retailer, in person at the Delaware Lottery Office, or mail your signed ticket and claim form; print your name/address on the ticket’s back and keep a copy/photo for records. By mail, send original tickets and documentation to: Delaware Lottery, 1575 McKee Road, Suite 102, Dover, DE 19904.
- Prizes up to $2,500: Claim in person at Delaware Lottery Retailer Claim Centers throughout Kent, Sussex and New Castle Counties.
- Prizes of $5,001 or more: Claim in person at the Delaware Lottery Office (business days 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) with a photo ID and Social Security card.
- For all prize claims, directions to the Delaware Lottery Office are available online or via mapquest.com for a map.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Delaware Lottery.
Can I claim a jackpot prize anonymously in Delaware?
Fortunately for First State residents, the Delaware Lottery allows winners remain anonymous. Unlike many other states that require a prize be over a certain jackpot, Delawareans can remain anonymous no matter how much, or how little, they win.
How long do I have to claim my prize in Delaware?
Tickets are valid for up to one year past the drawing date for drawing game prizes or within one year of the announced end of sales for Instant Games, according to delottery.com.
When are the Delaware Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Friday.
- Play 3, 4: Daily at 1:58 p.m. and 7:57 p.m., except Sunday afternoon.
- Multi-Win Lotto: 7:57 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
- Lucky for Life: Daily at 10:38 p.m.
- Lotto America: 11:00 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday
Missed a draw? Peek at the past week’s winning numbers.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Delaware Online digital operations manager. You can send feedback using this form.
Delaware
Can you go outdoor skating in Delaware? Yes, but beware of frostbite
People lace up their skates and hit the ice at Bellevue Pond
Watch this video of people ice skating on Bellevue Pond at Bellevue State Park in Wilmington, Feb. 6, 2026.
You can skate on certain outdoor ponds in Delaware this weekend, but do so with abundant caution.
Bellevue State Park announced on its Facebook page recently that its pond was open for ice skating. However, not all frozen over surfaces are good for that. Newark closed its reservoir north of the University of Delaware campus on Jan. 29 to prevent people from falling into the deep waters.
Bellevue State Park, in its announcement, said skaters need to exercise caution, especially around drainage pipes where ice might be thinner.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says ice that is 4 inches or thicker is good to walk and skate on. Ice that is 9 inches or thinker can handle a car, but it has to be this cold for weeks on end for that to be a safe option. So, put your skates on and skate carefully on approved lakes with others around.
The U.S. National Ice Center, which is a government agency tracking ice buildup, shows that the Delaware River from near the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal northward is 90-99% ice. The Delaware Bay also has significant ice buildup.
How to avoid frostbite
According to the Mayo Clinic, frostbite is an injury caused by the freezing of skin and the underlying tissue. Exposed skin is at risk of frostbite in conditions that are freezing cold and windy or wet. Frostbite also can occur on skin covered by gloves or other clothing.
It can take 10-30 minutes to experience frostbite on uncovered skin during this period of dangerous wind chills. Dress warmly, and if possible, stay inside. A warm-up to average winter temperatures is forecasted throughout Delaware later this week.
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